SLAC Job Postings

The Fundamental Physics Directorate (FPD) and the Technology and Innovation Directorate (TID) at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory jointly seek a Lead Engineer for the US Data Facility of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.

About the opportunity:

Rubin Observatory is an ambitious project to study the nature of Dark Energy and Dark Matter, the structure of our Milky Way Galaxy and Solar System, the evolution of distant galaxies and quasars, and the phenomenology of transient and variable cosmic objects.

Starting in 2025 Rubin will conduct a 10-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) using the world's largest digital camera mounted on a dedicated telescope at an excellent astronomical observing site in the Chilean Andes. The LSST will collect 20 terabytes of images each night, broadcast real-time alerts of supernovae and other transient astrophysical objects, and create an unprecedented database of digital imagery and catalogs including nearly 100 billion stars and galaxies. Scientists throughout the US and partner countries will mine this database to enable new discoveries in astrophysics and cosmology.

Software and data systems are critical to Rubin Observatory, on par with the telescope and camera. The US Data Facility (USDF), hosted at SLAC, is the operational hub for Rubin data management activities. The USDF supports real-time data transfer and alert generation, batch processing to create science-ready data products, long-term archiving and stewardship of Rubin data, project software development, and serving of Rubin data to the scientific community in conjunction with the commercial cloud-based Rubin Science Platform. The USDF operates as a partnership between FPD and SLAC's Technology and Innovation Directorate (TID), which operates the SLAC Shared Science Data Facility (S3DF) that hosts the USDF infrastructure.

The Lead Engineer is the senior technical leader for the USDF: a major scientific subsystem of Rubin Observatory comprising data, computing, software, networking, and operational activities. The position is the key interface between the scientific (FPD) and technological (TID) aspects of the USDF, functionally reporting to USDF Lead Dr. Adam Bolton.

About you:

As the technical leader of a key Rubin subsystem, you will develop and maintain comprehensive knowledge of the USDF and its role in the broader Rubin Observatory system, taking ownership and accountability for the performance and reliability of the USDF, and providing functional supervision and mentorship to other Data Facilities staff at SLAC and partner institutions.

As a project colleague, you will work within a larger Rubin Data Management organization of approximately 100 high-performing professionals across 10 teams and multiple institutions, supporting one another to achieve Rubin's scientific mission goal through technical excellence.

As a systems thinker, you will lead the evolution of the USDF software and data architecture over the course of the LSST, work with TID staff to fully leverage the S3DF shared infrastructure platform, maintain situational awareness of the USDF operational state, and understand the interactions and dependencies between actors and applications within the USDF environment.

As a software professional, you will contribute to the development, integration, automation, operation, and maintenance of scientific applications within the USDF and broader Rubin environment: actively identifying and addressing needs, working with application owners to help them operate effectively within the USDF environment, and maintaining a big-picture view.

As a curious and energetic generalist, you will bring broad and deep expertise in data-intensive software and computing systems, a natural drive to acquire new skills and knowledge, a strong ability to work with and learn from colleagues across a wide range of functional areas, and an interest in working across the boundaries of industry, open-source software, and academic research.

As an institutional colleague, you will collaborate and communicate effectively with scientists, engineers, software developers, IT staff, and administrative professionals at various career stages and backgrounds.

As a strategic leadership partner, you will work with other scientific and technical leaders to realize the full potential of Rubin-LSST data for scientific discovery, innovation in AI and machine learning, and future generations of experiments at the cosmic frontier.

Key technologies: Python, UNIX/Linux, shell scripting, Postgres/SQL, Kubernetes, Docker, S3, FastAPI, Kafka, batch computing (e.g. Slurm, HTCondor, PBS, or similar), distributed filesystems (e.g. Weka, CephFS, GPFS/Storage Scale, Lustre ,or similar), TCP/IP, DNS, HTTPS, cloud deployment, git, GitHub actions/workflows, RestructuredText, MarkDown.

Desired technologies: C++, Rust, Go, Java, Groovy, JavaScript, Cassandra, InfluxDB, MariaDB/MySQL, vcluster, CNPG, Strimzi, Ceph, Kyverno, Vault, VM, infrastructure-as-code (e.g. Puppet, Ansible, Terraform, or similar), ZFS, network switching/routing, Google Cloud, cmake, VSCode, Sphinx, LaTeX, HTML, CSS.

Required qualifications:

This position is being recruited at the rank of Lead Engineer (Staff Engineer 4) within SLAC's unified Career Level Matrix for Engineers and Scientists.

Minimum requirements are a bachelor's degree in computer science, electrical engineering, physics, astronomy, or related fields and at least 8 years of experience in data-intensive software and computing.

Desired qualifications:

Experience in scientific data management in the context of astronomy, cosmology, or high-energy physics.

Note: This position this position is open to applicants with backgrounds in industry, in academic research, and in a mix of both domains, and can accommodate a highly skilled and experienced individual who may not be an exact fit to all requirements. We encourage you to apply if you feel that you fall in this category, and to describe your match to the overarching needs of the job in your cover letter.

Given the nature of this position, SLAC is open to on-site, hybrid, and remote work options, with a preference for on-site or hybrid.

About SLAC:

SLAC is a multi-program National Laboratory operated by Stanford University under a contract with the US Department of Energy Office of Science. SLAC's mission is to explore how the universe works at the biggest, smallest, and fastest scales.

SLAC offers an excellent benefits package including paid time off, competitive salary commensurate with experience, and an attractive, inclusive, and collaborative work environment in the foothills of Silicon Valley. Relocation expenses for new hires moving to the Bay Area will be covered up to an allowance amount.

SLAC employee competencies:

Effective Decisions: Uses job knowledge and solid judgment to make quality decisions in a timely manner.
Self-Development: Pursues a variety of venues and opportunities to continue learning and developing.
Dependability: Can be counted on to deliver results with a sense of personal responsibility for expected outcomes.
Initiative: Pursues work and interactions proactively with optimism, positive energy, and motivation to move things forward.
Adaptability: Flexes as needed when change occurs, and maintains an open outlook while adjusting and accommodating changes.
Communication: Ensures effective information flow to various audiences and creates and delivers clear, appropriate written, spoken, and presented messages
Relationships: Builds relationships to foster trust, collaboration, and a positive climate to achieve.

Physical requirements and Working conditions:

Consistent with its obligations under the law, the University will provide reasonable accommodation to any employee with a disability who requires accommodation to perform the essential functions of his or her job.

Work standards:

Interpersonal Skills: Demonstrates the ability to work well with Stanford colleagues and clients and with external organizations.
Promote Culture of Safety: Demonstrates commitment to personal responsibility and value for environment, safety and security; communicates related concerns; uses and promotes safe behaviors based on training and lessons learned. Meets the applicable roles and responsibilities as described in the ESH Manual, Chapter 1¿General Policy and Responsibilities: http://www-group.slac.stanford.edu/esh/eshmanual/pdfs/ESHch01.pdf
Subject to and expected to comply with all applicable University policies and procedures, including but not limited to the personnel policies and other policies found in the University's Administrative Guide, http://adminguide.stanford.edu

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Classification Title: Staff Engineer 4

Grade: M

Job Code: 0134

Duration: Regular Continuing

The expected pay range for this position is $144,000 to $236,000 per annum. SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory/Stanford University provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the university reasonably expects to pay for a position. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal equity, geographic location and external market pay for comparable jobs.

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